Meaner To Me
by mstormw
Summary: "Well, plus I could tell she liked him, she was meaner to him than the other kids, you know,like Lisbon is to me." Set after 4 x 20, 'Something's Rotten in Redmund' Rated T but can write an M version if asked.


**Disclaimer- I'm way too depressed to think up something witty, so yeah, consider this disclaimed.**

**Spoilers- Based around the little dialogue at the end of 4x20, 'Something's Rotten In Redmund'.**

**A/N- Hey people, welcome to the wonderful world that is my brain. Not really. Half of you guys would end up in mental asylums if you were in my head, and the other half of you already are (threatening to gouge people's eye out with a spoon, might I add). So anyways, I'm just going with the flow on this one, so sorry if it seems really unstructured, I'm just having a bit of fun, and hope you enjoy it too :)**

* * *

"Hey, how did you know Billy was having an affair with the teacher?" Van Pelt wondered out loud as she, Cho and Lisbon entered the bullpen to eat some well-deserved pizza after the latest case. Jane, sitting in his usual worn leather spot, didn't bother to look up from what he was reading and replied with casual disinterest;

"They both had leaves on them from their make out spot in the woods," in a tone that almost required a dismissive wave of a hand.

"That's it?" Lisbon grumbled, trying to sound neither grumpy nor impressed at the classic Patrick Jane leap of conjecture, always beyond the comprehension of others. Then somehow he seemed to shift, almost imperceptibly, and a slight smirk briefly entertained his features, before he went on talking.

"Well plus I could see she liked him, she was meaner to him than the other kids, you know, like Lisbon is to me" He almost dared not turn and look at her, yet he also wanted to see the cogs whirring as retorts fired around her brain, making the synapses spark and her eyes blaze in a hopeless struggle to find something witty and biting. The clock ticked by one tenth of a second. She whipped around.

"Shut up!" Even she had to admit, that was the worst one she'd thought of in weeks.

"See?" His noting of the evidence just supplied to him was also quick fire, however he couldn't help but glance around at her now, as the agents received and swooned over the text sent by the missing team member and newfound father. He studied her carefully; trying not to seem as though he was staring, mentally replaying her remark and the tone in which it resonated. There was something that differed from the usual playful banter by the way she firstly avoided his eye contact, then held it stubbornly, as though it would make her seem less transparent. He had struck a nerve, and she was struggling silently, desperately, not to lose her ground as he realised he'd accidently stumbled upon something he did not yet know about his fiery boss. He'd been right. She couldn't lie to him, but she'd done a fantastic job of hiding from him, and he applauded her efforts as his brain swarmed with scenarios and conversations which he could use from such a small hiccup. After making a sad smile and barely concealed painful comment on the new born member of the planet, an uncomfortable Cho and sympathetic Van Pelt left the bullpen to escape the awkwardness and leave him to his thoughts. Lisbon's worried smile told him she'd already forgotten her blunder, in favour of her motherly instincts to care for and fix him. He lowered himself into the chair opposite her, and met her nervous smile with an equally unsure one of his own. Her frowned deepened.

"Are you okay?" she flinched internally, cursing herself for her stupidity, "Do you want to talk?" She already knew the answer. Or at least, she thought she did.

"If I promise to answer honestly, will you be honest with me too?" he looked down at his hands, then back up at her. Lisbon's eyes were rounded with disbelief, astounded by the idea of Patrick Jane actually talking to her about his thoughts. She nodded without thinking. "Okay then…" Jane started, unsure of how to go about this. This was Lisbon, the person that knew him better than anyone, so he knew his effortless charm was not right for the situation, yet he didn't want to seem too defenceless, as an automatic protection mechanism. "I'm sad, Lisbon, I'm always sad." Her eyes betrayed so much, so devastated at his pain, whilst also carrying her own bad experiences, so often overlooked in the shadow of Jane's demons. He reached forwards, taking her hands in his own, gaze not wavering from her face as her eyes flickered downwards to comprehend his touch confusedly. "But," he continued, "Right now, I have a flicker of hope." He begged her silently to understand as she in turn begged him to either stop talking or explain, without knowing which. "And this, Teresa, is where you need to be honest."

"I don't understand. You haven't asked me a question." She pointed out tentatively, wondering what this was, or where it was going. He smiled slightly, and she melted in an equal amount.

"I was getting to that. Here's my question, and remember, you need to be completely honest." She nodded, but before she could even finish her confirmation, his lips were on hers, gentle and hesitant, an invitation to answer an unspoken question. A small whimper escaped her, and she tore her hands away from his, pushing him backwards more forcefully than she intended.

"No." she said, blushing and gasping furiously, as her fingers raked her hair and she shook her head, getting up and pacing before him. "No, Jane. The answer to your question is no." She closed her eyes, shook her head and let out a deep breath, before abandoning explanation and heading to the safety of her office. Jane sat quietly, tapping his fingers on the table thoughtfully, and then he mumbled to himself;

"Well, I think that went very well." He got up from his chair, peeking from a distance through the narrow gaps in the blind of Lisbon's office, watching her straighten all of the stationary on her desk and routinely alternating between frowning and closing her eyes and sighing. He debated leaving her be, but quickly dismissed it; he had his answer, he just needed to get her to say it, and he knew he could do it now, whether it involved ducking staplers or not.

* * *

He decided that having the courtesy of knocking the door before sticking his head around it was something that might work in his favour in this situation. Little steps. She didn't seem too surprised or unprepared to see him, so he deemed it safe to step into the room further.

"Patrick," she started, in a tone that only contained a hint of protest. Plus the use of his first name was a good sign. She stood up, and was about to speak when he interjected;

"Don't talk." He rounded her desk, placing his hands loosely on her arms, just above her elbow. "I'm really sorry, Teresa if I made you feel uncomfortable." He stepped forwards again, invading her personal space and leaving her nowhere to go.

"Patrick…" She protested again, with definite throatiness and discomfort, looking down and away from him, avoiding his eye and trying to ignore the closeness. His eyes burned into her, she could feel them, and she had no choice but to meet his smouldering gaze fearfully. He bent down again, gently rubbing his nose against hers, and her eyes flickered closed as one of his hands moved to the small of her back and the other to brush a stray lock of hair from her face, awaiting the contact that didn't come. Instead, his mouth wandered to her ear, breath hot and tickling as he whispered;

"You know, for a second there, I thought you loved me back, and I really thought that's why you're harsher on me, but you say no, so I guess I was wrong eh?" his fingers lightly traced a pattern up her spine, which made her shiver, then he stepped back and away, leaving her swallowing a groan of desperation as cold air raced to replace the comforting heat of her blond companion. He paused as he rested his hand on the door of her office, counting to three before opening it.

* * *

Lisbon's first attempt at speech only left her mouth as a squeaky whimper, and it took her a number of seconds to recover properly. She heard the click of the door open, and she turned around, finally finding her voice.

"Wait." She felt his smirk from across the room, even with his back turned. "Please." She added, failing to make the word sound less needy than she was. The groan was already torn out of her before his mouth even fully covered hers. He grinned against her lips, guiding her so that the edge of the desk was biting into her back and his teeth on her lower lip, lightly. His lips began to explore her neck, and she threw her head back, gripping his shoulders and gasping "I guess I'll have to be even…" her own low moan cut her off as he found her pulse point "even more mean now," she managed to choke out, her fingers fisting his shirt and hair as he hummed against her skin and edged his kisses gradually lower.

"I look forward to it," Jane mumbled, making her flush. He had a way of saying things that implied so much more than the actual words, and she loved that he could render her incapable of thinking a decent thought with a supposedly innocent, throwaway remark.

"I'm sorry I lied, and... and I, " Lisbon gasped, suddenly forgetting all coherency, instead burying her face in his shoulder and choking out the loudest, most frantic groan ever passed her lips as his magic fingers blazed trails of fire across her skin, without having to remove a single item of clothing. "Love you." The man really was a genius, and she knew it and loved him for it in all his infuriating, arrogant, charming and simply gorgeous self. Their mouths melded together again.

"I love you too Teresa." He breathed into her mouth, and that was all she could take. She tore herself away, grabbed his hand and dragged him to the attic, as fast as she could on trembling legs, where no one had a chance of hearing them.

* * *

**A/N- Thanks for reading people, hope you enjoyed it! If you did, please review, I love hearing from you. If you hated it, please review also, I'm open to any criticism! So really there's no excuse, REVIEW PLEASE! I'm also considering writing a much longer, much more M version of this, but feel there's no point unless you people want me to, so it would be very much appreciated if you could express your opinion on that too :)**


End file.
